Port Moller Airport Explained

Port Moller Airport
Nativename:Port Moller Air Force Station
Faa:1AK3
Iata:PML
Icao:PAAL
Type:Private
Owner:U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
City-Served:Port Moller
Location:87 NM northeast of Cold Bay, Alaska
Elevation-M:6
Elevation-F:20
Coordinates:56.0061°N -160.5608°W
Pushpin Map:USA Alaska
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of airport in Alaska
Pushpin Label:PML
R1-Number:1/19
R1-Length-M:1,067
R1-Length-F:3,500
R1-Surface:Gravel
Stat1-Header:Enplanements (2008)
Stat1-Data:487

Port Moller Airport is a publicly owned, private-use airport located 87NM northeast of the central business district of Cold Bay, in the Aleutians East Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is owned by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. It was previously known as Port Moller Air Force Station.[1]

Overview

Scheduled airline service to Cold Bay Airport is provided by Peninsula Airways (PenAir).[2] As per Federal Aviation Administration records, this airport had 487 commercial passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008, an increase of 14% from the 427 enplanements in 2007.

Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, this airport is assigned 1AK3 by the FAA and PML by the IATA.[3]

Facilities

The airport covers an area of 369acres at an elevation of 20 feet (6 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 1/19 with a gravel surface measuring 3,500 by 100 feet (1,067 x 30 m).

History

The airport was built in 1958 to support Port Moller Air Force Station, a Cold War United States Air Force Distant Early Warning Line radar station. The station was operated by Detachment 4, 714th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron based at Cold Bay Air Force Station, near Cold Bay, Alaska. The radar station was deactivated in September 1969, ending military use of the airport. The Air Force remediated the site around 2000, removing all abandoned military structures and returning the site to a natural condition.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Port Moller Air Force Station . . 22 Mar 2001 . https://web.archive.org/web/20010426171925/http://www.airnav.com/airport/1AK3 . 26 April 2001.
  2. http://www.penair.com/timetables.html 2009 Timetables
  3. http://gc.kls2.com/airport/PML Great Circle Mapper: PML - Port Moller, Alaska